Arabian Silkscreen
by Arieth
Summary: PG-13 for a bit of imagery. This story is a bit AU in the sense that it's a look as to what might have happened had Voldemort fell just as the Marauders graduated. Sirius decides to take a bit of a vacation in Egypt where there are a few surprises waitin
1. Default Chapter

Endless screaming was what he'd heard. It had reverberated through his skull, imprinting itself upon his memories, the agonized cries of the poor doomed muggles. Oh how they had begged, begged to be released, begged for their tormentors not to hurt them. But it had all been in vain…useless. Sirius Black had watched the other aristocratic youth merely smirk, their eyes gleaming with the power that they held over their weaker counterparts. He had watched his own brother, two years younger then he, step forward, shoulders squared, head held proudly high, and relentlessly torture a poor girl, probably no older then 12, until the only movement was her body twitching as her cells gave off their last bit of energy. Her head had lolled to the side, the screaming dying, her eyes having a hollow look to them. She was dead…the colour draining slowly from her cheeks even as her body was carted off. And there had sat the Dark Lord, Voldemort, the twisted puppet master of the Death Eaters. What was it to eat death? With each life you took, were you to take that persons death inside yourself? Have it eat away at your humanity till there was nothing left of your soul except for a dark plague, festering away, ready to infect others? This was to be the fate that his mother had left him and his brother to, cheering them on to enter the black depths of this ritualistic cult. To have that leering skull burned into his arm, to have it bring excruciating pain when his master summoned him. He looked up, there was a balcony that went around the entire amphitheatre, dark shapes watched from the shadows, he knew his mother was one of them, he could almost see the callous smirk stretch across her face as Regulus killed that young girl knowing Sirius was next. His hand shook as he raised his wand, another young girl kneeled before him, her black hair almost to her waist. Her skin was pale in the eerie light, the source of light was a burning human skeleton hanging above it all, the flames coming from the charmed snakes slithering in and out of its ribcage, through its empty eye sockets and out of its mouth, the jaw hanging open. In the strange light Sirius' eyes played tricks on him. It wasn't the unknown muggle before him, but Lily Evans. His throat constricted as her eyes pleaded with him for mercy. Eyes so like Lily's. If he took this step, killed her and joined the death eaters, he would be expected to kill them all, every lesser muggle. There was an impatient sound behind him, but still Sirius stood there, his heart beating inside his chest, feeling light-headed, about to take his first life of many at the tender age of eighteen, his birthday having past just after graduating. But suddenly, there was a bright light, from above. Sirius dropped his arm and looked up, thinking that an angel of mercy had come to save him from this horror. But it was not an angel, the light that filtered down from above, was from a door opening. Soon, from all around, doors that Sirius had not known were there opened. Members from the ministry's Aurors stormed in, flinging spells with abandon. There were new screams joining the throng, this time from the death eaters themselves as they tried to avoid the enchantments. And still Sirius stood there, standing protectively in front of the girl, as he was blinded by light, unable to see but willing to die to save her and make up for what he had almost done.

A strong hand clamped down on his shoulder and Sirius spun, wand raised, but he stopped short, surprised to see the smiling face of Dumbledore break through the endless light and screams. When Sirius saw his face he knew everything was going to be alright. Dumbledore would take care of him…would take care of them all, even the poor muggle girl cowering at his feet.

Sirius awoke with a start, white silk sheets fell to his waist as he sat up, the breeze from the open balcony rustling the gauzy material of this bed curtains. He ran a hand over his face, the dream was always the same. Most of the time it rang true, allowing him to recount every detail of the night of Voldemort's downfall. Other times it turned into a nightmare as he actually killed the muggle girl. Another variation was Voldemort becoming triumphant a well hid Avada Kedavra hitting Dumbledore in the back as he'd smiled at Sirius. But that hadn't actually happened. The Ministry had succeeded under the guiding hand of Albus Dumbledore, finding the Death Eaters and putting and end to them and their Lord. Sirius had seen Voldemort fall, and hadn't felt ashamed at the swell of hope mixed with relief that had risen inside him.

Throwing the sheets aside he swung his legs over the side of the bed. The marble beneath his feet had begun to cool as the night progressed, pleasantly cooling off his heated feet. He padded softly in the dark to the balcony, leaning against the rail as he gazed off into the horizon. The breeze ruffled his hair, sending it in all directions, much like it did to the sand that surrounded this little oasis in the desert. Small tornados of sand swirled about, riding the pale sand in the moonlight. The sight brought a small smile to his face, reminding him just how free he was now. The Black legacy had fallen to him, his mother and newly tattooed brother having been caught in the battle. His inheritance had been something that he had previously looked on with a sense of dread, knowing everything else that was attached to it. But now, none of that still stood, none of his previous obligations still weighed down on him. He was a free man, able to enjoy the money his father had saved away for him, not knowing what his wife would use it for after he'd past away. Sirius inhaled deeply, his eyes closing. His father would be happy to see him now. In a grand palace in the middle of the Egyptian desert. He had nothing to worry about except enjoying the rest of his life. His father had managed to save enough money that Sirius had little need to worry about finding a job for the rest of this life. The numerous residences all over the world that had now passed to Sirius ensured that he'd always have a place to go.

He'd picked Egypt first, a place that had always intrigued him but that he'd never been able to visit before. All that sun didn't agree with his mother's complexion so they'd spent summers in and around Europe. He'd been in Egypt for about a month now and was still thoroughly enjoying himself. The food took a little getting used to at first, as well as the means of traveling from his desert home to the markets spread closer to the Nile. He'd been able to perfect his ability to Aparate, managing to appear far enough away from the small city to not be see, but close enough so that the few minutes walk to get to civilization was still enjoyable. He enjoyed those little walks. The clothes were different too, reminding him of baggy pyjamas for the men and sultry versions of lingerie for the women. Speaking of which, the first few times he had visited, there had been a lovely young girl in the market, manning her family's stall. He'd told her that he would come and visit her every week until she told him her name.

As he sauntered back to bed he thought that perhaps tomorrow would be a nice day to visit the market and buy a few trinkets to send back to James and Remus. A mischievous grin spread across his face as his head hit the pillow. Perhaps he'd even pick Lily up one of those sequined outfits, the scantiest one he could find in green to match her eyes. Yup, tomorrow was the perfect day to head into the city.


	2. Arabian Silkscreen Part 2

The sun was hot on his back as Sirius strode towards the small city. It wasn't as big or as crowded as Cairo but it still had all the necessities, and a few other things that weren't so much of a necessity. He knew the way to the little stall by heart, having pestered the young girl everyday since his first visit. His sandaled feet showed the way, a bouquet of Nile lilies in one hand. Today would be the day that shy young woman told him her name. He was whistling softly to himself, not looking forward, but as his head tilted up, the sight that greeted him made him stop short, the smile dying on his face. The stall looked as if it had been ransacked, the tables overturned, the handmade jewellery scattered across the packed sand. A woman dressed in a hijab knelt, weeping into her hands, while an older gentleman tried to comfort her. Something was definitely wrong, the young girl was nowhere to be seen. Sirius knelt beside the woman, the lilies forgotten.

"What happened…?" Sirius reached out to touch the woman but the man swatted his hand away. In broken English, his accent thick the man scowled down at Sirius.

"Leave, not your business. Family."

"Please, sir…What happened to the young girl that works here?"

At his words the woman started wailing, "They've taken her!!! My Little Kiya! They've taken her!"

"Who? Who's taken her?" But Sirius could get nothing else out of the woman, her cries echoing around the bazaar.

Feeling useless and out of place, Sirius stood, stepping back a few steps, his mind racing, trying to find some way that he could help this poor couple and their daughter. There wasn't really much he could do, in a strange land he didn't understand all the customs and traditions of.

"Psst…young man!" A weasely voice sounded behind him and Sirius turned, a small man in a red fez, the black tassel hanging in front of his face beckoned to him. The man looked more like a rat then a weasel. With his whisker-like moustache and jittery demeanour he reminded Sirius of Worm-tail in mid-transformation. "You want to know where the girl is, yes?" The man rubbed his hands together and nodded as he talked, as if he already knew Sirius' answer…which he probably did.

"Tell when where she is…and who's taken her."

The man tsk-ed with a shake of his head, the tassel flopping about as his head moved. "Such an impatient young man. I know where she is. And I will tell you…" An oily smile spread across his face, "For a price."

Sirius opened his mouth to say he wasn't going to pay the man a cent, but found himself asking "how much" instead. He reminded himself that he was now the proud owner of several vaults at Gringots. The wizarding money held within their depths had been collected by the Black's for years, and most of it was probably blood money. Even if Sirius became a frivolous spender, there would be no chance of spending it all in his lifetime. The least he could do was try and use it for some good. The man seemed to be overcome by glee, rubbing his hands together again.

"How much?" Sirius repeated again, his voice was hard, none of his normally casual demeanour remained.

"Three of those gold coins you carry in your pocket."

Sirius raised an eyebrow at the man's knowledge. Indeed there were galleons in his pocket. He carried a few with him just in case he came upon a wizarding shop. But he'd yet to take them out of his pocket, which meant that this small man must have gone in there for him.

"I'll give you one now, one after you tell me where she's been taken, and one after I've gotten her back." The coins were solid gold and where quite a bit larger then regular muggle coins. Sirius knew for a fact that they were worth far more to the muggles, then they did in the wizarding world, having hawked off a few during summers spent with James.

"No deal! All now or no information!" Sirius was no fool and had proven it, upsetting the man who now understood that Sirius was not an easy score.

"Suit yourself." Sirius kept his voice calm, his face neutral, it seemed there were benefits from being a Black after all, the ability to show a lack of emotion. "I'm sure there will be someone around here who will accept my offer." Sirius made to turn and leave but the man held him back, his bony hand surprisingly stronger then it looked.

"Fine, deal sir…I accept your offer." With his hand still on Sirius' arm, the man led the boy through a few winding streets. "I'll do you one better…I'll show you where she's kept. There's not much time if you want to get her back."

"Not much time? Where has she been taken?"

The man cackled gleefully, "You do not know our ways young man. You are still innocent. Her parents, the merchants refused to pay Abdul Singh…He's a very wealthy and powerful man, who offers the merchants protection from thieves and brigands. Everyone knows that the thieves themselves work for Abdul." The man gave a shrug, "But such is life here. You want to continue business around here, you want to protect your merchandise, you pay Abdul. They refused to pay, their daughter was taken in payment. She'll fetch a nice price in the slave market. Her parents will not have to pay Abdul for quite sometime after he's made a profit off of the girl."

"Slave pits! They're _selling_ her?" Sirius was shocked, this sort of thing did not happen in England, the servants were willing, well, the human ones, and the house elves were given a slight amount of freedom depending on their owners, but to have actual slave pits? He'd heard about it, knew that it went on in certain countries, but had not expected to be a part of it.

The alleys twisted and turned, making Sirius become quite lost after only a few minutes. Without the steady grip of the man beside him, he'd have no idea where to go. He'd have to offer him a few more galleons to take them back to the bazaar. Suddenly the small man stopped, pulling Sirius into a dark alcove. He pointed one gnarled hand up ahead to what looked like a dilapidated building. It was made of the same yellow sand-like material as the rest of the small city but seemed even more run down, chips and cracks showing in the sand coloured walls. Two burly men stood on either side of the doorway. They were dressed in the traditional garb but with one difference, at their hips hung great black rifles. Sirius didn't know enough about muggle guns to know what type, but he knew they could do quite a lot of damage.

"There, is the realm of Abdul Singh. I will take you inside." He looked Sirius up and down, "I have the feeling that you will not succeed in this task without me. Can you speak Arabic?"

"No…I've not been here long enough."

The man tsked and shook his head again, "Then I shall translate for you. Well get the girl…and you can pay me my third coin."

Staring at the building Sirius spoke, "I'll give you two more if you escort us back to the market." He couldn't very well Aparate with Kiya in tow.

"Very good, very good. My family shall eat well for weeks. Please, allow me to go speak with the guards."

The man slipped out of the alcove and walked towards the two men. He lifted his hands, the billowing sleeves of his clothes moving to show that he hid nothing up his sleeves. The two men trained their guns on him. In rapid Arabic, the three men exchanged words while Sirius watched from the shadows. He had no idea what has happening. For all he knew the small man could be telling the guards that they need only kill Sirius to find all the gold they needed. He cursed softly and made a note to learn their ruddy language. The man turned and beckoned to Sirius who cautiously moved away from his hiding spot. The two guards were smiling as they allowed Sirius to pass inside the darkened doorway. It wasn't exactly the welcome he had been expecting.

"What did you tell them?" Sirius whispered to the small man.

"I said that you were looking for your first concubine. You plan on building a harem that they will be allowed to visit." The man was smirking.

"But I'm not planning – "

"They don't need to know that. Come." Once again, the man led the way, seeming to know exactly where to go.

"It seems you've been here before."

"Many times…it's where I met my first wife."


End file.
